Corner Canyon High students witness presidential inauguration

Feb 22, 2017 03:20PM
● By Julie Slama

Corner Canyon High students, along with their teacher and parent volunteers, attended the presidential inauguration and saw several other sites in Washington, D.C., including the Supreme Court. (Taylor Sampson/Corner Canyon High School)

By Julie Slama |
Julie@mycityjournals.comFor about a year, Corner Canyon High senior
Taylor Sampson has been planning to attend the presidential inauguration in
Washington, D.C.“It’s amazing to be part of history and to
actually see what we’ve learned about in school,” Taylor said.She and 10
other Corner Canyon High School students, accompanied by their teacher Amber
Rogers and three parents, stood in the center section to witness the swearing
in of the new president — only their view was blocked by the stands for the
television monitors.“We saw it on
the huge TVs, but it was still way cool to experience it and have everyone
together united after the past year of debates. We saw President (Barack)
Obama’s helicopter circle around to say goodbye
one last time. I could see him through the helicopter window,” Taylor said.At the
ceremony, the Corner Canyon delegation could see Vice President Joe Biden,
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Minority Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.“It was history
in the making and very inspirational,” Rogers said, adding that it was worth waiting
for hours to witness the inauguration.To pass the time, Rogers quizzed her U.S.
government and AP U.S. government students with history trivia.“It was only a
15-minute speech. Students thought it would be an hour and they were surprised
at how many scripture verses were included when they thought church would be
separated from state,” she said.The Corner
Canyon group was in Washington, D.C. for four days — Jan. 19 through Jan. 22 —
and managed to average 11 miles per day of walking, Rogers said.Their sightseeing began with seeing the Pentagon
and its 9-11 memorial.“Several
students said this was among their favorite because it was so beautiful and
moving,” Rogers said. “There is a part dedicated to those who died aboard the
plane and those who died in the Pentagon.”They walked the
National Mall and visited Washington Monument;
Jefferson, Lincoln, Martin Luther King and World War II memorials; and the
National Museum of American History.Going into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
was one of Taylor’s favorite parts.“I’m really
interested in World War II and that time in history. I have studied Anne Frank
and consider her a role model,” she said.Another part
Taylor and other students appreciated was the Women’s March. As they were
trying to make their way to Ford’s Theatre, they were surrounded by more than one
million marchers with signs.“We walked
through the middle of it and it was amazing to see everyone so passionate about
it; they were uniting through
posters and chants,” she said.However,
because of the delay with the Women’s March, they missed their entry time into
Ford’s Theatre and only saw where President Lincoln was shot and died at the
home across the street from the outside.Still, it was
worth it. Rogers said this
allowed the students to see both sides of political issues through a peaceful
protest.“They learned that people have a say in our
democracy and can protest to have their voices be heard,” she said.The group also visited the U.S. Capitol,
National Archives and the Supreme Court of the United States.“I’m a big fan
of Supreme Court cases, so we talked about the court cases beforehand and then,
gave them trivia questions once we were there,” Rogers said. “Their reaction at
the Archives was
shock. They could not believe anyone had such perfect handwriting when they saw
the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Magna Carta.”Their
experience wasn’t over when they boarded the airplane. As they disembarked, they
saw Malia Obama get off the same
plane.“We didn’t know
she was on board. She was on her way to Sundance and we were so surprised, we
didn’t ask
for a photo or get an autograph.”Taylor will share her experiences with her new
classmates.“I learned so much
about America and her history. To be there, in the moment, and to be in D.C.
and see the monuments, it gave me to a greater understanding,” she said.